Cate Kinkaid arrives at H&B Classic Auto Restorations to give a friend a ride. But, as usual, trouble finds Cate even there–this time in the form of one dead man, one wounded man, and what appears to be a pretty obvious case of self-defense. Owner Matt Halliday wants to hire her, but not for this case. Instead, Cate is charged with finding a man who owns a particular motorcycle Matt would like to buy. As her search progresses, she begins to suspect that the shooting in Matt’s office may not have been as cut-and-dried as it appeared.
Lorena McCourtney is a long-time resident of Southern Oregon and enjoys using Oregon settings in her books. She wrote numerous short stories for children before moving on to romances and now to mysteries, often with a bit of humor. She won the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Mystery “Book of the Year” and twice won the Daphne Du Maurier Award of Excellence.
My Impressions:
I love a cozy mystery, and one that keeps me guessing and includes a main character who takes her faith seriously is a book that I definitely want to read. Lorena McCourtney’s 3rd book in The Cate Kinkaid Files fits the bill. If you love cozies too, then check out Death Takes A Ride.
Cate Kinkaid has the knack for finding dead bodies, even though her uncle and boss at Belmont Investigations says their private investigation firm does not deal in murder. But Cate is soon to be a full-fleged private investigator and the sole proprietor of the business, so when a case involving murder comes up she doesn’t shy away. With the aid of her boyfriend, a detecting cat and a hulk of a dog, Cate is determined to get to the bottom of a shooting that on the surface looked like self-defense, but soon involves scheming ex-wives, motorcycles and gambling debts.
Death Takes A Ride is filled with fun and endearing characters including Cate, her boyfriend and computer whiz Mitch, a detecting cat named Octavia and a big hulk of a dog named Clancy. In fact if you like a good dog story, you will enjoy Clancy and his antics. The investigation takes a few twists and turns and Cate often finds herself in interesting situations that need a bit of assistance to get out of. But through it all, Cate keeps her faith and shares it along the way. Never moralizing or preachy, this novel does have a character who takes her faith seriously — Cate goes to church, prays and acknowledges that God is the one in control. There is romance as well which adds a sweetness to the story. And although this book is the third in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone novel. I liked it, and if you are a fan of cozies, I am betting you will too. Now I just need to go back and read books 1 and 2!
Recommended.
(Thanks to Revell for providing me a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
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Living on her own for her first time, Bible school student Jane cleans houses to make ends meet. But being independent brings big trials, like falling for a handsome professor, dealing with an obnoxious roommate, and then there’s the dead bodies…
Kathleen Delaney has written four previous Ellen McKenzie Real Estate mysteries, but has never before transported her characters out of California. A number of years ago she visited Colonial Williamsburg and fell in love. Long fascinated with our country’s history, especially the formation years, she knew she wanted to set a story there. Another trip with her brother and sister-in-law solidified the idea that had been rolling around in her head but she needed more information. A phone call to the nice people at Colonial Williamsburg provided her with appointments to visit the kitchen at the Payton Randolph house, where she got her first lesson in hearth cooking and a meeting with the people who manage the almost extinct animal breeds the foundation is working to preserve. A number of books purchased at the wonderful bookstore at the visitor’s center gave her the additional information she needed and the story that was to become Murder by Syllabub came into being. Kathleen lived most of her life in California but now resides in Georgia. She is close to many historical sites, which she has eagerly visited, not only as research for this book but because the east is rich in monuments to the history of our country. Luckily, her grandchildren are more than willing to accompany her on their tours of exploration. You can find Kathleen on the Web at 
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